WHY TO SEE
Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer after Walmart, unveiled a new hypermarket concept. Its
core hypermarket format has struggled in recent years as consumers shopped closer to home to save
on rising gas prices, and turned to more compelling stores for Beauty and Fashion. The new test
format called Carrefour Planet creates a compelling, shoppable, exciting environment - while
still presenting a focus on value.
Key changes include a more spacious feel, wider aisles, new lighting, bold
new signage, and 8 color-coded specialty “boutiques” for Produce, Frozen
Food, Organics, Beauty, Baby, Fashion, Home, Multimedia/Leisure that wrap
around the primary grocery areas.
There is a café right in the middle of the store and a dedicated special events
area that hosts cooking classes, massages, makeup lessons, etc. There are
new services (express hair styling, makeovers, clothing alterations) and new
technologies (wine pairing kiosk, beauty virtual mirror, 2D codes, self-scan
shopping). And there's a nursery.
What Works:
• It's an exciting and unique shopping experience that still emphasizes value.
• The enhanced emphasis -- products and services --on children, beauty, fashion and organic offerings
makes this seem very relevant to younger Mums.
• The boutiques can be seen from the core grocery areas -- not hidden away --to entice shoppers to buy.
What Doesn’t Work:
• Carrefour still faces the location issue. Hopefully the new, more compelling format will encourage
shoppers to drive further for their weekly shopping.
• The store appears so upscale it may convey the wrong (price) message to cost-conscious shoppers.
Walmart experienced a similar problem with its Project Impact format (Gotta See 1Q 2009).
• One wonders if shoppers will stop to have a massage or makeover while doing their grocery shopping.